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Arslan's faction

Arslan

Voiced by (OVA): Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese), Ben Fairman (English, Manga UK), Greg Baglia (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Yūsuke Kobayashi (Japanese), Aaron Dismuke (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arslan.jpg

The prince of Pars, but is frequently misinterpreted by those around him as being a weakling, because of his effeminate appearance, naivete, compassion, and optimism. While these are true to a point, Arslan is also philosophical, intelligent, and charismatic, able to rally even the most apathetic of people to his cause. He is dedicated to his friends, especially Daryun, at one time threatening to kill an ally who had got Daryun into a particularly nasty situation.

All-Loving Hero: Mostly in the Arakawa version, though.
Attractive Bent-Gender: Hiromu Arakawa once drew Arslan (and Andragoras) as girls. Here's the result.
Badass Adorable: The epitome of such. Cute and can kick ass.
Berserk Button: Arslan's button is a bit harder to press but endangering his friends is one way to bring out his anger.
Beware the Nice Ones: Threatens someone for the first time in his life when they cause Daryun to be in danger. And in general, he's just a capable fighter as the rest of his party.
- Arslan is normally gentle, soft-spoken, patient, and doesn't like violence. However, when Rajendra cynically puts Daryun's life in danger, he snaps, draws his sword and tells Rajendra that if Daryun doesn't survive the fight, he, Arslan, will personally have Rajendra's head. This comes as a surprise not only to Rajendra but also to Arslan's own followers.
- In the novel he says "I swear by the gods of Pars that if that monster kills Daryun its head will decorate the city gate - along with yours!" The novel also informs us that this was the first time Arslan ever threatened anyone.
Cain and Abel: His relationship with his adoptive cousin, Hilmes, who is planning on killing Arslan so he can take the throne of Pars for himself.
Character Development: He develops into a person who's suited for the throne, while maintaining his kindness and altruistic nature as the story goes along.
Combat Pragmatist: On both a personal scale and a tactical one. On the personal scale, he's not above targeting a horseman's horse to bring the horseman down and even the odds, for example. On the tactical scale, he listens to his advisors heavily and goes with both what they suggest and what he prefers. So far, he hasn't lost a single fight because of this.
Distressed Dude: Arslan often needs someone, usually Daryun, to come help him get out of being cornered/attacked by the enemy. Justified in that he is young and inexperienced and while he can hold his own in a fight, he is frequently targeted because he is the prince with a price on his head.
Friend to All Living Things: Kishward's hawks are very fond of him, particularly Azrael, who at times seems more like Arslan's pet than Kishward's. Vahriz says that animals are naturally drawn to the prince's noble heart.
Good Is Not Soft: Despite his loving demeanor, he will not tolerate any betrayal or rash disputes amongst his allies and while merciful by nature, is not adverse to shedding blood should the situation call for it.
Happily Adopted: Averted. While he loves his adopted parents, they do not reciprocate these feelings.
Heroic Bastard: Only alluded to in the anime, expanded upon in the novels and the manga. In fact, he's not even of royal blood, he's the son of a cavalry soldier and a serving girl, whom he thought to be his nanny. He quickly proves that he is charismatic, kind, and intelligent enough to deserve his followers' loyalty and grow up into a great ruler regardless.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Son: While not ugly by any means, Andragoras has a very stern and frightening face when Arslan is young and almost effeminately beautiful. It's discussed in-universe that Arslan resembles his beautiful mother more. And it turns out that Arslan isn't even their real child.
Innocent Blue Eyes: His blue eyes reflect his innocent and pure-hearted nature.
Kid Hero: He's fourteen during his quest to reclaim Pars.
Like Father, Unlike Son: He's nothing like his parents. He's the complete opposite of his hot-headed, warmongering father Andragoras and the cold, aloof mother Tamahimine. This is actually a plot point, as his lack of commonality with his parents hints to his true status as an adopted prince.
Living MacGuffin: Arslan is frequently targeted due to his status as the Crown Prince of Pars and that he has a one hundred thousand gold coin price on his head.
The Load: As the least talented of his company, when his quest to free his homeland begins, all he really has to contribute is the legitimacy his name brings. To be fair, he's fully aware of this, and actively works to improve himself. A good part of the story is him growing out of the scared child dependent on Daryun's strength and Narsus' mind to survive into a leader of men in his own right.
Magnetic Hero: One of Arslan's assets is his compassion and empathy. He can read people and manage to convert them to his side. It is to such extent that enemies treat him with respect and courtesy.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The feminine boy to Etoile's masculine girl.
Morality Pet: To Etoile. He's the only Parsian with whom she empathizes and the only one able to bring out her softer and more compassionate side.
Nice Guy: One of the nicest people you could ever meet. Other characters are often shocked by not only his compassion, but his thoroughly warm demeanor.
Nice to the Waiter: One of Arlsan's defining traits is that he is friendly and kind to everyone, whether it's someone equal to him in rank or a low-ranked soldier or commoner.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Hodir's death, Arslan tries to free his slaves but they went against him. According to Narsus, the reason why the slaves were upset about their master is because they're treated better than the rest. Without him, they have nowhere else to go.
Oblivious Adoption: For a good while, he doesn't even know he was adopted.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: Inverted. As the future Shah of Pars, Arslan is supposed to be this, in the same vein as his father Andragoras, and has received instruction in sword-fighting and mounted combat from a young age, but the battle on the plains of Atropatene was his first time in a battlefield, ever, and a combination of his youth and inexperience makes him notably sub-par when compared to any of his retainers. He is capable of defending himself from Mooks and not getting completely overwhelmed when left alone in a fight, but rarely has any stand-out moment of fighting skill during his campaigns, and actually requires a bodyguard in the form of Jaswant to ensure he's not left vulnerable when Darius and the rest are fighting at the forefront of battle. To his credit, Arslan is very aware of this failing of his and has regularly been training to better himself in combat so as not to be too much of a burden to his valued retainers, enabling him to hold off Shagad in single combat when the latter tries to take him hostage during a pitched brawl, landing a deep cut on his arm, but failing to dismount or outright defeat him.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Parsian royalty are expected to be war heroes; the king basically serves as the commander and is on the front lines, and the prince is expected to go to battle at young ages; Arslan went into his first battle at 14. And in general, Arslan is trying to reclaim an entire country at 14.
Spare to the Throne: Inverted, in that it's heavily implied that Arslan is the intended 'heir' in the scenario. Arslan's true status as a peasant adopted into the royal family as a prince, the suspicious deaths of his caretakers though what is implied to be poisoned wine and Andragoras' comments about him being 'used to waiting' in regards to Tahamine's refusal to open her heart to him imply that Arslan was adopted and made into Andragoras's public heir whilst he spent years trying to woo Tahamine and father an official heir with her, just to placate the citizens and put rest to any concerns about the royal bloodline, furthered by the fact that Andragoras becomes more antagonistic towards Arslan as he starts proving himself a competent king and ruler in his absence, as he never planned for the peasant boy to be anything more than a public distraction until he could replace him with his 'true' heir.
Unkempt Beauty: A male example. His hair has quite a few unruly strands, especially his bangs; doesn't stop him from being the Bishōnen he is.
Uriah Gambit: After having freed himself, Adragoras forces Arslan to leave Pars until he's able to amass an army of another 50,000 men — which Arslan and his allies realize means that Arslan is effectively exiled.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: For most of his life, he wanted to become a successor his father would be proud of.
The Wise Prince: He's trying to be one. Though most of the planning and politics are done by Narsus and Daryum, Arslan still tries to learn the ropes of it.

Daryun

Voiced by (OVA): Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Steven Pacey (English, Manga UK), Edward Britton (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Ricco Fajardo (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daryun.jpg

Formerly a high-ranking military officer of the kingdom of Pars, Daryun is demoted from his position in the opening of the anime. His new mission is to personally protect and serve Arslan, which inevitably lead Daryun and Arslan to become close friends. Daryun is loyal to a fault, and at points tells Arslan that whatever his true origins may be, Daryun regards him as his prince. His fighting skills are so legendary that, at one point, Prince Rajendra praises him as the greatest warrior in both Pars and Shindra.

Berserk Button: Daryun doesn't like it when anyone disrespects his uncle Vahriz, especially after his death. He also really doesn't like it when anyone tries to do harm towards his charge, Arslan.
Big Damn Heroes: Early on, Daryun comes to Arslan's rescue when he was attacked by Kharlan.
Black Knight: A heroic example. Daryun is known as "the Knight in Black" due to his dark armor, hair, and steed.
The Champion: To Arslan. At one point he makes it clear that he doesn't care whether or not Arslan is the rightful heir or even of royal blood, he's loyal to him as a person.
Combat Pragmatist: Which goes to show that even Knights In Shining Armor need not avoid it.
Dark Is Not Evil: Daryun dresses in all black, and in the novel he's known in-universe as the Black Knight.
Honour Before Reason: A very specific example. Daryun is no stranger to fighting dirty as needed to win, depending on the situation, but when on mounted combat he hesitates to strike other men who have fallen from the saddle due to outside reasons, such as their mounts being attacked by a third party, as he feels it is a disgrace to their skills to not at least let them die on their feet fighting back.
Ignored Expert: Recommends caution against the Lusitanians because he felt they wouldn't invite a battle on Pars' terms unless they had something up their sleeve, and gets stripped of his rank for cowardice as a result. The following battle proved him right.
The Dreaded: The mere mention of Daryun is enough to send soldiers quivering and running away in fear.
The Lancer: Arslan's Number Two and wields a spear as his main weapon.
One-Man Army: Single-handedly takes down a battalion of soldiers when rescuing Arslan in his maiden battle.
Papa Wolf: Towards Arslan, Gieve often teases him about his over-protectiveness. Granted, it's rarely without good reason.
Red Baron: Daryun is called Sher Senani (Great Tiger General) by the awestruck Shindran soldiers at the end of the duel before the gods. Even prior to this, he also enjoyed the title of Mardān fu Mardān (Warrior of Warriors) even amongst the Marzban of Pars.
Reused Character Design: In Arakawa's version, he strongly resembles Solf Kimblee.
Undying Loyalty: To Arslan, to the point where he says he isn't loyal to Arslan because he is the prince, but that he's loyal to Arslan as a person.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Pretty much his relationship with Narsus, but they are a far more friendly example, rarely going beyond mutual teasing in their vitriol.

Narsus

Voiced by (OVA): Kaneto Shiozawa (Japanese), Daniel Flynn (English, Manga UK)

Voiced by (TV): Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Christopher Bevins (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/narsus.jpg

Narsus was once a chief adviser and tactician under Andragoras, but because he spoke out against the king's continued practice of slavery, he was removed from his office. In addition to being a brilliant tactician, Narsus is also an incredible swordsman, an intelligent philosopher, and a not-so-skilled painter. Arslan convinces Narsus to help in his cause by promising to make him the court painter.

The Ace: Narsus is Hannibal and Talleyrand rolled into one, while also having elite fighting skills.
Badass Bookworm: An ancient version of this trope. Narsus is a very good strategist and sometimes makes very good schemes to fight enemies.
Berserk Button: Don't ever talk negatively about his skills as an artist. When his friend Daryun does it, it may merely lead to a spat. If you're not his friend though, you would really need to be a VERY good fighter.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Narsus is a formidable strategist and statesman (think Oberstein) who nevertheless regards himself an artist first and foremost. In the second part of the story he says he's a "Royal Court Artist who happens to be First Minister as well." Daryun's utter and vocal distaste for Narsus's artwork is a running gag throughout the story, but while the first anime adaptation would have the viewers believe that Daryun is too boneheaded to appreciate true art, the novel series and the Arakawa adaptation imply that Narsus's art does actually suck.
Cultured Badass: His interest in painting is enormous; unfortunately, his skill is somewhat less so.
Informed Attribute: Narsus' art skills or lack thereof, since his paintings are never actually shown. That said, Arslan's reaction to seeing one of his works (a still life of a bowl of fruit) suggests that he really is a terrible painter.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He has flowing locks and acts like every battle is an excursion for him.
Not in This for Your Revolution: Only joins Arslan's party after the prince says that he would allow him to become the court painter.
Renaissance Man: A tactician, swordsman, philosopher, and painter (although he's not very good at the last one).
Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: The reason he left the royal court is a combination of his moral opposition to slavery and his absolute refusal to stop criticizing the king about it. To his credit, he freed his family's own slaves as soon as he took over his father's title, which taught him an important lesson in ensuring that your moral victories have logistical support in place first.
The Strategist: His role in the party.
Terrible Artist: So bad Arslan pales upon seeing his art. Daryun actually uses this as a Cool and Unusual Punishment torture technique when interrogating some captured pirates in Gilan, claiming that Narsus has mastered an ancient Serician Mystic art that allows him to drain the vitality out of those whose image he captures in his paintings. Given the reaction most people have to his artwork, this isn't exactly far off the mark either.
- In Koei's Dynasty Warriors crossover game of the anime, his Musou attack basically has him haphazardly paint a picture in the middle of battle, and the end result (which we're not shown) causing enemies around him to be so repulsed by the painting that they're blasted into oblivion.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Essentially his relationship with Daryun.

Elam

Voiced by (OVA): Nozomu Sasaki (Japanese), Deborah Makepeace (English, Manga UK), Kristopher Milnes (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Natsuki Hanae (Japanese), Justin Briner (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elam.jpg

A youth whom Narsus brought out of slavery, Elam intends to serve his "master" Narsus until he is old enough to live on his own. Cunning in his own way, he acts as a spy to gather useful information through various disguises. He faces something of a struggle with Alfarid for the affection of his master Narsus.

Age Lift: In the original novels and most adaptations, Elam is roughly the same age as Arslan. The OVA series, however, made him several years younger.
Ambiguously Brown: In the OVA series, Elam has a noticeably darker skin complexion.
Born into Slavery: Elam and his parents were once slaves who were liberated by Narsus. He's technically a free man now, but keeps working as Narsus' attendant, due to the latter's inability to take care of himself.
Defrosting Ice King: Elam follows Arslan out of a sense of duty to Narsus rather than companionship, and he doesn't hide it all that well, but he soon comes around after Arslan assists him in battle.
Disguised in Drag: Once disguised himself as a woman while inspecting Ecbatana, complete with a very convincing voice.
Dismissing a Compliment: He dismisses every compliment he receives, especially from Arslan; finding himself unworthy of praise.
First Friend: Daryun hopes Elam can be Arslan's first friend (since entering the castle), which he does.
Green-Eyed Monster: Shows shades of this when Alfarid joins the party and acts familiarly with Narsus.
Race Lift: He is Ambiguously Brown in the 90s OVA series, but fair skinned in all other adaptations.
The Reliable One: While Elam won't be taking the heads of any warlords, he's one of the most all-around versatile and dependable members of Arslan's party who does various odd jobs as a page. Combat, spying, scouting, cooking, etc.—you name it, Elam can do it.
Reused Character Design: Not obvious in the anime where he has brown hair and green eyes, but in the manga where his hair and eyes are both coloured black, he looks like either a short-haired and younger version of Lan Fan, or a short-haired and older version of May Chang.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Alfarid. They don't get along well regarding Narsus.
Team Chef: He's an excellent cook and the one in charge of the meals when the team is travelling. His cooking skills were one of the reasons Narsus agreed to take him along.
Arslan: "If Elam doesn't come, who will make us such delicious food?"
Undying Loyalty: To Narsus, and later Arslan.
Younger Than They Look: Elam is only 13, yet he is taller and physically more mature-looking than Arslan, who is one year his senior.

Gieve

Voiced by (OVA): Kazuki Yao (Japanese), Timothy Bentinick (English, Manga UK), Harry Krause (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): KENN (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gieve.jpg

A traveling musician and womanizer, Gieve also happens to be a skilled bowman and swordsman. He initially joins Arslan's party out of his infatuation with Farangis, but later shows true sympathy for the young prince and is curious to see what kind of kingdom Arslan will make.

Anti-Hero: Gieve is a ruffian who is painfully insubordinate and arrogant. He rarely keeps his wisecracks to himself, washes away infidelity with prideful, grandiloquent lies, and dispenses with formalities once it is convenient for him. Though he shows indifference to situations that do not involve his own well-being and is merciless when it comes to encountering his enemies, Gieve also has a much softer side and he gradually comes to believe Arslan to be a light of hope amongst the corruption common in the nobility.
Bishie Sparkle: Every time he talks with Farangis, he's surrounded by many sparkles.
The Casanova: He actually manages to charm his way into sleeping with a handmaiden of the queen, it's just that his latest target isn't falling for him.
Chivalrous Pervert: He might flirt with every pretty girl within the vicinity, but he was visibly upset and angry when Silver Mask killed one of the Queen's handmaidens in front of him, for whom he respectfully covered her body afterwards.
Handsome Lech: He's quite the flirt, and several women throughout the series comment on how attractive he is; apart from the queen's handmaiden, Gieve gets a few Sindhurian girls swooning over him as well.
Hidden Depths: He's well aware of Rajendra's political aspirations and two-faced nature. Furthermore, he's at least as strong as Jaswant, and he's just good at fooling him.
Hopeless Suitor: His feelings for Farangis are completely one-sided.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially only joins the group so he can be with Farangis and thinks very lowly of Arslan. However, he comes to respect and care about the boy when he sees how genuine his personality is.
Ladykiller in Love: A notorious flirt, but Farangis is the only woman he genuinely cares about.
Love at First Sight: He fell for Farangis right away.
Not in This for Your Revolution: He initially joins the group not because he wants to help Arslan become king, but so he can be close to Farangis.
One-Man Army: Claims he'd be able to handle 400 enemy soldiers by himself. He most likely can.
The Drifter: Gieve. A Wandering Minstrel with a Gray-and-Grey Morality who hates nobility and initially only joins Arslan's group because of Farangis and his own hatred against Lusitanians.
Undying Loyalty: To Arslan, eventually. He accepts a mission from Narsus which would allow Arslan to have a legitimate claim to the throne that takes him away from the group. He decides to follow through despite no one really watching over him and telling him what to do.
Wandering Minstrel: Calls himself this word for word.

Farangis

Voiced by (OVA): Masako Katsuki (Japanese), Pamela Merrick (English, Manga UK), Simone Grant (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese), Rachel Robinson (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farangis.jpg

Farangis is an aloof and cool priestess sent to assist Arslan on behalf of the Temple of Mithra. She is an extremely skilled marksman with a bow and is also able to hold her own with a sword.

Action Girl: The biggest one in the series.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's tall, attractive, calm and composed, and has long black hair.
Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Arslan's other female ally, Alfarid is tomboyish and she wears conservatively. Farangis, however, is an elegant and composed Lady of War and she dresses skimpily.
Bodyguarding a Badass: Was offered to be Arslan's "guardian" by her temple, who she basically serves as his protector, not that he always needs it.
Cool Big Sis: Shows shades of this to Alfarid, as well as with Arslan.
Heroic Seductress: In the fifth episode of the second season, Farangis gladly agreed to seduce Pelagius until the right time to subdue him.
Indifferent Beauty: Farangis is well aware of her beauty but she tends to ignore the attention she attracts from several men.
Kicked Upstairs: Farangis implies to Arslan that her fellow sisters at the temple despised her, which is why she was given the noble task of guarding the Prince, conveniently kicking her out in the process.
Lady of War: She's easily one of the best fighters in the cast. A beautiful, graceful lady who is also one of the most skilled with a bow and sword in the series.
Mama Bear: Much like Daryun, she has little sympathy or patience for those who'd harm or speak ill of Arslan. When Pelagius, who she's feigning interest in, starts badmouthing him, she is visibly unable to contain her disgust.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the 24th episode of the 2015 adaption, arrows never seem to hit her. Whether it's the intervention of the Djinns or just utter good luck is never explicitly shown.
Navel-Deep Neckline: Part of her outfit.
Never Gets Drunk: She beat Gieve and Rajendra in a drinking contest in episode 14. While Gieve had already passed out and Rajendra's face was flushed, Farangis displayed no side effects. She even manages to keep up with the notoriously hard-drinking Kubard with no worse for wear.
Shipper on Deck: She is seen frequently encouraging and coaching Alfarid over her feelings for Narsus. She also calls Narsus out for not taking Alfarid's affections seriously, seeing how indecisive or quick he is to avoid the topic.
Stripperiffic: In Arakawa's version, her "clothing" consists of little more than a long strip of white fabric wound around her breasts from over her shoulders to create a Navel-Deep Neckline effect, a white knee-length loincloth, and brown leather sleeves on her legs in lieu of pants. She also wears a white hooded cloak most of the time.
- In the winter months, she has fabric around her midriff, swaps the leather sleeves for navy tights, couples them with navy arm sleeves, wears brown moccasins, and wears her cloak much more often.
Undying Loyalty: Is every bit as loyal to Arslan as Daryun, and almost as protective.

Alfarid

Voiced by (OVA): Kumiko Watanabe (Japanese)

Voiced by (TV): Manami Numakura (Japanese), Jad Saxton (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alfreed.jpg

The daughter of the chief of the Zott Clan, Alfarid is a bandit who was saved by Narsus from Silver Mask when the latter killed all her companions including her father.

A-Cup Angst: Seems to have this in Arakawa's version, given that she looks at Farangis' chest with irritation in Episode 13.
Boyish Short Hair: Her hair barely peeks out of her head wrapping.
The Chief's Daughter: The daughter to the chief of the Zot Clan. And heiress to the title of chieftain.
Curtains Match the Windows: Red hair and red eyes.
Facial Markings: Has one red line on either side of her cheeks.
Hopeless Suitor: Her feelings for Narsus are unrequited.
Inconsistent Spelling: Some translations romanize her name as "Alfreed".
Older Than She Looks: She says she's older than Elam, but she looks to be about the same age, if not younger.
Rebellious Princess: Er, Chief's Daughter, but same effect. She was supposed to inherit the title of chieftain after her father, over her older and more mature brother, but she doesn't want to.
Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: She refers to herself as Narsus' wife/mistress, but he doesn't reciprocate her feelings.
Signature Headgear: Her trademark blue headband.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Elam. They don't get along well regarding Narsus.
Tomboyish Ponytail: Has a very short, stubby ponytail which is more clearly seen in the second season.
Wild Child: She lived in the mountains in a bandit tribe.
You Killed My Father: Her motivation for killing Silvermask.

Jaswant

Voiced by (OVA): Hiro Yuki (Japanese)

Voiced by (TV): Wataru Hatano (Japanese), Marcus D. Stimac (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaswant.jpg

A Shindran soldier sent by Prince Gadevi to infiltrate Rajendra's army. He ends up as Arslan's guide and when he's discovered, Arslan spares him since he empathizes with his situation: he's an orphan raised by Grand Vizier Mahendra, who was like a father to him. He eventually joins Arslan's main group, but refusing to pledge his allegiance to the kingdom Pars. Instead, he personally swears loyalty to Arslan to repay the prince's mercy.

Bodyguarding a Badass: Is appointed as Arslan's personal guard when he joins the party. It's downplayed, however, as whilst Arslan is reasonably competent in fighting, he is still the weakest fighter in his band, and thus Jaswant's skills, which are on par with Gieve's and just slightly below Daryun's, are needed to allow the Black Knight and other front-line fighters to freely attack their enemies without concern that Arslan could be attacked in their absence.
I Owe You My Life: Freely admits that he feels indebted to Arslan and vows to serve him after having saved his life on three occasions.
Fantastic Racism: He's on the receiving end of this a couple of times when the Parsian officers start joining up with Arslan.
Honor Before Reason: It was pretty clear that Gadhevi's not someone worth serving, but he's bound by his duty to keep serving him.
Licked by the Dog: Even before Jaswant joins Arslan's party, his good nature is hinted by the fact that Azrael—suggested to be an Excellent Judge of Character—likes him, often providing him with dead rodents. Arslan takes note of this.
Mirror Character: He has a few things in common with Arslan, as neither is positive of their parentage, and both lose the one figure, respectively, that could've confirmed it for them in the finale of the Sindhura arc.
My Master, Right or Wrong: A slight variant. Despite being aware that Gadhevi and Rajendra aren't exactly the best people, Jaswant stayed in Sindhuria partly because of the above trope and partly because he's so devoted to Mahendra.
Nice Guy: Jaswants often remains kind even to people who mistreat him, including a woman who swindles him out of all of his money by giving him a fake sob story—rather than be angry, he's relieved to know that her life wasn't actually so tragic.
Not So Stoic: Jaswant is normally serious, but not even he's immune to Narsus's painting skills; he has a comical Heroic BSoD upon seeing his art for the first time, which lasts for several panels before he finally recovers.
Undying Loyalty: To his country, telling Arslan that if Pars and Sindhura were to go to war, he'd still side with Sindhura. But in the meantime, he is personally loyal to Arslan.
Walking Shirtless Scene: In Arakawa's version.
What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Rajendra on his lack of honor after Arslan himself honored his end of the deal.

Silver Mask's faction

Silver Mask

Voiced by (OVA): Shūichi Ikeda (Japanese), Sean Barrett (English, Manga UK), Oliver Wyman (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/superthumb_1.png

Leader of the Lusitanian army and the main antagonist.

Big Bad: The antagonist of the series.
Cain and Abel: Essentially his relationship with Arslan, his adoptive cousin. Hilmes is jealous of Arslan being the prince and plans on killing him so he can have the throne for himself.
Char Clone: He wears a silver mask to hide a burn on his face, which was a result from a tragic incident from his youth. He is introduced as a Dragon with an Agenda, but it is revealed that he is a Long-Lost Relative of Parsian's royal family, and he eventually becomes a member of Big Bad Ensemble. Visual cues aside, he is even voiced by Char's Japanese VA in an OVA adaptation.
Even Evil Has Standards: He didn’t try to harm or kill Bahman (his old teacher) and Princess Irina. Which is understandable, as Bahman taught him how to use the sword and bow and Princess Irina was nothing but kind to him.
Hypocrite: He proclaims Andragoras to be a usurper and unjustly ruling Pars. Truth be told, given the Gray-and-Grey Morality in play here, Hilmes is just setting himself up to be a usurper. At least Andragoras kept the whole thing internally, while Hilmes invited the Lusitanians to wreak havoc on Pars.
Inconsistent Spelling: Translation of his name has switched between Hilmes (as is in Koei's game adaptation, Kodansha's translation and in Funimation's version) and Hermes (in the Viewster translation).
Insane Troll Logic: His excuse for killing innocent Parsians who had nothing to do with the politics of the royal family? Simple: They are supporting a usurper and because of that, they deserve to die by the hand of the rightful king of Pars as punishment and he has the full right to kill them because he is their rightful king and is therefore punishing them for supporting a usurper. With me so far?
Irrational Hatred: Despising King Andragoras for killing his father is perfectly reasonable. Despising Arslan, who had nothing to do with it simply by being of the same blood, and possibly not even that, is not.
Just Toying with Them: Discused. After the duel between himself and Daryun in the finale of Season 1, Narsus posits that Silver Mask thinks he's toying with Arslan's faction, and won't be satisfied with a near-victory.
Kissing Discretion Shot: When he promises Irina that once he reclaims his throne, he will set her free from her country, the camera pans to their feet and Irina gets up on her tiptoes.
Long-Lost Relative: Arslan's long lost cousin.
Malevolent Masked Man: He wears a mask almost every time he appears and has a burning desire to kill Arslan.
Missing Mom: Hilmes’s mother, has never been seen or mentioned.
Never My Fault: Rages about how people are rallying to Arslan's banner instead of him, the ostensibly rightful heir. However, due to his keeping his true identity secret outside of a few senior officers he tries to get to defect to his side, nobody knows that he's the rightful heir, so they can hardly be blamed for not kneeling to him. In addition, Arslan started openly opposing the Lusitanian occupiers within weeks of Ectabana falling, while Hilmes openly collaborated with them, and didn't do anything to oppose them until half a year later, for reasons that had nothing to do with their conquering his country. So really, Arslan being more popular than him is entirely his own fault.
Revenge Before Reason: Hilmes is obsessed with getting revenge on Andragoras, and Arslan by proxy, and reclaiming the throne he believes that rightfully belongs to him that he would ally himself with Lusitanians and lead them to attack his homeland and allow the deaths of thousands of innocent people that he sees as fitting because these people had the nerve to support a usurper.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: He's revealed to be Hilmes, Andragoras' nephew, and at one point, the crown prince of Pars. After Andragoras staged a coup on his father and him, leaving Hilmes scarred, he has been plotting revenge for his father and reclaiming his place on the throne.
Scars Are Forever: Has bad burn scars on the right side of his face from a fire he was stuck in during his youth.
Violently Protective Boyfriend: When the man harboring him sells him out to the Lusitanians, he makes a callous remark about Irina will be killed as well. This triggers Silver Mask to go into full-on Unstoppable Rage mode, killing all the Lusitanian soldiers.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He was a nice and cheerful young boy. Then his uncle killed his father, tried to burn him alive, and usurped his throne.
- It gets even worse. Immediately following the attack, he kindles a friendship and romance with the princess of Maryam, Irina, promising he'll set her free once he claims his throne. Once he discovers he was sold out by the man that he was being harbored by to the Lusitanians and informed they will take over his country, all form of sweetness leaves him.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's deathly afraid of fire, understandably so.
With Friends Like These...: His alliance with Lusitania is strained to say the least; and most of Pars' defectors serve him, not Lusitania. Lo and behold, by the time the second season rolls around, Hilmes has mutually burned the bridge with Lusitania.
You Killed My Father: He says this to Andragoras word for word and it serves as the motivation for his actions.

Kharlan

Voiced by (OVA): Rokurō Naya (Japanese), Ray Lonnen (English, Manga UK)

Voiced by (TV): Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)

One of Andragoras' loyal retainers. He sets a trap for the Pars army that leads to the kingdom's downfall and now serves Lusitania.

Better to Die than Be Killed:
- He didn't exactly complain about his death when it was his own weapon that did him in.
- In the OVA adaptation, he finds himself trapped between a ravine and Daryun. He chooses the ravine.
Death by Irony: In the anime, he stabs his spear into the ground to avoid falling off his horse. When he tries to pull the spear out of the ground so he can go back to fighting, he loses his balance and impales himself when the spear-head snaps off.
Face–Heel Turn: Betrays his country for an unknown reason, though later events hint that it was because he found out Hilmes is alive and is seeking the throne.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Literally; his spear was bent badly while fighting Daryun and while he prevented a fall. But when he fell off his horse anyway, the bent blade struck him straight between his neck and chest.
Karmic Death: You may find him, his motivations and his loyalty tragic, but the betrayals he committed along the way and the cruelty of his methods don't exactly inspire remorse for his passing.
Kick the Dog: Burns down a village and kills all the men, just to lure Arslan out.
Manipulative Bastard: In the anime, he's the one who suggested Daryun advise King Andragoras to be cautious before Arslan's maiden battle, so the king would be enraged at his "cowardice" and strip him of his command.
My Death Is Only The Beginning: Kharlan dies satisfied, in a way, as he has contributed to Silvermask/Hilmes's road to kingship.

Saam

Voiced by (TV): Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Jeffrey Schmidt (English)

One of Pars' Marzban, who nearly got killed during the takeover of Ecbatana. He sworn his loyalty to Silvermask upon knowing of his true identity.

Always Someone Better: A minor case and somewhat Played for Laughs, but Zandeh feels inferior to him, given that Silver Mask and the Parsian soldiers clearly respect Saam more.
Death Seeker: Of a sort. Being defeated at the hands of Silvermask hurt his pride and he did not feel right with taking his own life. In search of a more worthy grave, and not wanting to waste his talent, he joined Silvermask.
Face–Heel Turn: His defection is technically a Deconstruction of the trope—in that he chooses to live in shame as having betrayed Andragoras's regime for justifiable reasons: he seeks to assist Silvermask in his attempted coup to take over the throne.
The Strategist: Generally serves as Silvermask's confidant, but that's not to say he's hopeless in combat. He would have been classified as The Evil Genius of Hilmes's faction if the conflict wasn't a case of Gray-and-Grey Morality.

Zandeh

Voiced by: (Japanese) Kiyoyuki Yanada (OVA), Masakazu Morita (TV anime)

Voiced by: (English) Robert Phillips (OVA, Manga UK dub), Clifford Chapin (TV anime)

Kharlan's son, who serves Silvermask in hopes to achieve his vengeance against Arslan and Daryun.

Berserk Button: Call his father a traitor. Go on. I promise you he won't get mad.
The Brute: To an extent, of Hirmes's inner circle—especially when compared to Saam. He does field duty and commanding troops very well, but is little good for anything else.
BFS: He initially fights with a sword which may conceivably be considered anti-cavalry due to its thickness and weight. He later switches it for the next trope.
Disney Villain Death: In the anime, when he realizes he's losing the fight to Daryun, he drops his sword and runs. Fanagris then shoots him in the shoulder, causing him to fall down a ravine.
Face–Heel Turn: He is a Parsian who now serves Lusitania/Silvermask. It is a grayer example than most, if only because he is serving Silvermask personally, due to his own father Kharlan's loyalty.
Inconsistent Spelling: Translation of his name differs between Zandeh and Xandes.
Revenge Myopia: Wants vengeance for his father's death on Daryun, who didn't even kill him, despite the fact that Kharlan betrayed and attempted to murder Daryun and Arslan first, people he'd both sworn allegiance to.
Super-Strength: Zandeh rips a tree trunk out of the ground after lodging his sword in it—and then using that as a weapon
You Killed My Father: Wants Daryun dead because he believes Daryun killed his father, even though Kharlan took his own life in refusal to Arslan's mercy.

Parsians

Andragoras III

Voiced by (OVA): Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese), Douglas Blackwell (English, Manga UK), Roger Rifkin (English, CPM)

Voiced by (TV): Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Christopher Sabat (English)

King of Pars, Arslan's father. Known for his stubbornness and preference of power over strategy, Kharlan's betrayal and Silvermask knowledge of Parsian tactics led to his and his army's disastrous defeat. He is kept alive as a prisoner after his kingdom's fall.

Abusive Parents: To say that he does not treat his son with much love would be a major understatement. Arslan could drop dead on the spot and Andragoras would probably be happy about it. The fact that they aren't actually related probably has to do with it, but he is nontheless his father in the boy's and the public's eyes.
Badass Boast: Gives a chillingly good one to Guiscard to explain how he's still such a monster after being in captivity for so long.
Andragoras: "Unlike gold, iron rusts."
Badass in Distress: He's thought dead after the disastrous battle of Atropatene, but is later one revealed to have been taken captive by the Lusitanians rather than being killed and is currently being held in captivity.
Bad Boss: He will brutalize any soldier that advises caution or retreat "for cowardice" even when it's obvious that his army is headed into a trap. He only retreats at Vixir's advice when the battle is completely hopeless, and even he had to be reminded that his queen would be in danger of capture from the Lusitania army if he died at Atropatene. By then, it was already too late as his defeated and demoralized army was no match for Silver Mask's ambush.
Crazy-Prepared: Learned a chain-whip fighting technique developed by slaves in another country in the event of him being captured.
Fatal Flaw: He was overconfident that his powerful army could overcome any enemy with little regard for tactics or planning, despite warnings from one of his generals. That pride would cost him the battle of Atropatene where he not only lost a huge portion of his soldiers, the rest of his followers scattered, the capital city becoming overrun and he himself would be imprisoned.
Frame-Up: In the OVA, Kharlan's men do not relay his orders to retreat, but instead smash the horns and start shouting that he cowardly fled, without ordering a retreat first. This destroys what little bit of morale the Parisian army had left, completing the crushing defeat at Arslan's maiden battle.
Irony: The only reason Hilmes made sure to spare his life whilst he was captured, despite the advantages to would have brought him and the Lustinians, was so he could make him suffer, planning to kill him after he'd brought him Arslan's severed head to drive him into despair. After his escape, it becomes increasingly clear that Andragoras doesn't give a crap about Arslan, even banishing him upon returning to the army he'd assembled for him and taking control of it, sending him out on a Snipe Hunt and refusing to allow any of his retainers to follow him, all but guaranteeing Arslan would be exiled for the remainder of the war. If anything, it's implied that Andragoras would have been happy if Arslan had been killed, as his actions show the he clearly sees his son as a threat to his rule.
- Relatedly, a good deal of the earlier chapters showed the average citizen's concerns about Arslan as a Sketchy Successor to his mighty warrior father, with many assuming his disapproval and cold attitude towards him was a result of Arslan not living up to his standards as a future king. After his defeat and imprisonment, Arslan starts rising to the challenge afforded to him in this crisis situation, recruiting many powerful and talented allies and assembling a large army to attack the invaders with, even achieving numerous victories against invading armies from bordering countries, all of which shows that he is indeed worthy of being a future ruler of Pars. All of this merely serves to drive Andragoras into outright hostility, even exiling Arslan upon returning to take command of the army from him, an attitude which confuses both enemies and allies around him for him becoming even more unwilling to accept Arslan now that he's finally been able to demonstrate his worth. It's all but stated that Andragoras never intended for Arslan to be his heir in the first place, and once he started proving competent at the position, it merely served to make Andragoas decide that Arslan's worth as a public heir was coming to an end.
Happily Married: Averted; he indulges his wife with gifts, but she is cold to him. It's later revealed she might have a pretty good reason for that.
His Own Worst Enemy: Holy god, yes. Andragoras' immense fighting skills and fearsome attitude of a conquering ruler are severely offset by him being too bullheaded and volatile to take practical or pragmatic advice and preferring to enact his orders whilst disregarding the wishes of his troops below him. He is very quick to violence and treats those around him poorly, which initially contrasted greatly with Arslan's more weak-willed behaviour, but as time went on and his son started to not only become a competent leader, but a beloved one to his troops as well, the contrasts between them served to highlight how ineffectual Andragoras' iron-fisted ways are for ruling in the current crisis situation. His clear-cut contempt of Arslan despite his successes and banishment of him for petty reasoning earned the disgust of many of the Parsian soldiers, and soured their opinion of him after his escape for his needless antagonism. His decision to sacrifice Jimsa, a Turanian abandoned by his people and unaffiliated with the Parsian conflicts within their borders, as a blood sacrifice to rise troop morale for his march on the capital, only served to convince the Turanian to escape and join Arslan's band due to the boy ruler being the only one who told him to live, and his callous attempted murder of Zaravant for helping him escape, which he survived only through luck and careful positioning of his environment to stage his 'demise', unnerved many of his troops who witnessed the act, it being clear that they followed him afterwards only through their loyalty to Pars and fear of their king's wrath.
Jerkass: Doesn't seem to have a nice bone in his body. "Civil" is about as close to "nice" as he gets.
Master Swordsman: The only people in the cast who might be able to match him one-on-one are Daryun and Hilmes. Even after months of being chained up and tortured on a starvation diet, he can still match entire squads of Lusitanian soldiers once he breaks free of the chains.
Never My Fault: Upon being told by one of his top commanders that he's about to ride into a trap, his reaction is to reprimand and demote the commander for cowardice, then ride straight into the reported trap, which closes on him, costing him his army, his kingdom and his freedom. Even after breaking free several months later, he never acknowledges that Daryun was right to advise caution and the fall of Pars was the result of Andragoras' own recklessness.
Secret-Keeper: He seems to know something pertaining to the truth behind the history of royal family, which is implied to be tied to the reason why he apparently murdered his brother and tried to kill Hilmes by burning down the building he was inside. He later confesses some to the details to Sam, explaining that his father, Gotarzes II, was deeply superstitious, and received a prophecy that the royal line of pars would end with his child. Despite fathering 2 sons, he was unable to father more, and became deeply fearful the prophecy would come to pass. Then, he was told of a counter-prophecy, stating that the line of pars would continue beyond his sons if a child was born to the wife of his eldest son. Despite Sam believing that this makes Hilmes The Chosen One, Andragoras continues on with his tale, the contents unheard of to the reader, but whatever he tells Sam leaves him deeply shaken afterwards. He also warns Sam not to go around telling others of what he now knows, since Andragons points out that he could be lying or himself deceived by another. In any case, it's implied that whatever Andragoras knows is the reason he became Laughing Mad upon Hilmes revealing his survival.
Ungrateful Bastard: How does he greet Arslan after he breaks himself out sees that Arslan's managed to amass an impressive army and begin a similarly impressive military campaign? Exile him under the extremely flimsy pretenses of "treason" (doing his best to help their Kingdom survive in his absence) so that he can have the glory of taking back Ecbatana himself! Oh, and no, he doesn't even give him so much as an empty "well done". Hell, he doesn't even let Arslan visit his mother before leaving, or even let him spend one last night in the fort before setting out in the morning due to the late hour.
The Usurper: Andragoras killed his older brother, King Osroes, and got rid of Prince Hilmes so he could claim the throne for himself. Except as it turns out, Hilmes wasn't as dead as Andragoras thought he was.
Warrior Prince: Presents himself as the ultimate warrior king. Unfortunately, he's too much of a warrior and not enough of a king: while arguably the most dangerous fighter in the series, he has no charisma, leadership skills, or political acumen, ruling through brute force and intimidation. This hurts him once Arslan starts proving himself, as he does have those qualities.
When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Because he's always been able to solve problems with other countries by having his armies smash anyone who gets in his way, he eventually stops even considering any solutions beyond sending out his armies to smash things. Which gets him in trouble when he runs into an army he can't smash.
The Worf Effect: Given he proves near-unstoppable in a fight once he breaks out of Prison, regardless of his physical condition or the number of opponents against him, it's likely that his loss to Silver Mask following the battle of Atropatene wasn't just that the latter was the better fighter, but the ambush that took his convoy off-guard during their retreat left about 3 arrows stuck in his sword arm, making him unable to defend himself adequately against a skilled opponent.

Tahamine

Voiced by (OVA): Kazuko Yanaga (Japanese), Deborah Makepeace (English, Manga UK)

Voiced by (TV): Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Stephanie Young (English)

Queen of Pars, Arslan's mother, with a cold attitude towards him. It is said that her striking beauty was the reason for several nobles to betray and kill each other for her hand.

And Now You Must Marry Me: Has apparently had this invoked on her on multiple occasions.
Arranged Marriage: Innocentis falls for her at first sight and decides he's going to make her his empress. Not that anything ever goes through, though.
Happily Married: Averted, she's completely cold to her husband and is even colder to her son. With the former, she has a pretty good reason. The latter? Not so much.
Ice Queen: Tahamine is aloof and detached to everyone, including her own family. Probably becuase neither of them are. Andragoras is all but stated to have forced her into becoming his queen, stopping just short of Marital Rape Licence until she consents, and Arslan isn't even her son, but an unknowing peasant boy raised as a public figurehead to stave off concerns until Andragoras finally gets through her iron will and makes a 'proper heir' with her. Even if this makes her attitude towards Andragoras understandable, Arslan is unaware of the truth and honestly thinks of her as his mother, making her cold rejection of him an unnecessary cruelty.
Parental Neglect: She's very cold towards her son and doesn't seem to care about him at all. Because he's not her son, and in fact seems to be just an Unwitting Pawn in Andragoras' schemes behind the walls of the royal palace. Despite this, she still treats him with distain for something that is not his fault.
- In the first episode of the second season, she is shown on the brink of tears, pleading with Andragoras to return her child to her, however, it's likely that the child she's referring to isn't Arslan.
So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Tahamine herself voices no opinion, but it's observed that her incredible beauty seems to have a way of provoking powerful men to go to extremes for the sake of having her, leading them to unfortunate ends.
The Stoic: Her face is trained to a stoic poker face at all times.
- Not So Stoic: Breaks her stoic visage for the first time in the series when pleading with Andragoras to give her child back.

Vahriz

Voiced by: Masaru Ikeda (Japanese)

The Eran of Pars and King Andragoras' right-hand man. Whenever he is not on the battlefield, he serves as Arslan's swordsmanship instructor. After the battle of Atropatene proves to be a death trap, he convinces Andragoras to retreat to Ecbatana, but they are ambushed by Silvermask and Vahriz is killed in the ensuing fight.

Mentor Occupational Hazard: Being both Arslan's teacher and Daryun's wise uncle, the poor man never stood a chance against his narrative fate.
Old Master: He's a high-ranking soldier and routinely manages to disarm Arslan during the latter's swordsmanship tutoring despite his age.
Old Soldier: At 65 years old, Vahriz still serves as the commander-in-chief of Pars' armies.
Secret-Keeper: One of the very few people who knows that Arslan is not Andragoras and Tahamine's son.
Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in a couple of chapters/episodes, but the letter he sends to Bahman proves to be very important later on, as it reveals the truth of Arslan's parentage.
The Worf Effect: One of Pars' most experienced warriors, he gets killed early in the story to establish how strong Silvermask is.

Shapur

Voiced by (OVA): Brian Note (English)

Voiced by (TV): Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English)

One of Andragoras' loyal retainers. He was captured during the battle of Atropatene and presented at the gates of Ecbatana. He's put out of his suffering by Gieve.

Big Brother Instinct: He was the only one who went after his half-brother Isfan and his mother after Shapur's father abandoned them in the mountains.
Cold-Blooded Torture: Suffers this at the hands of the Lusitanian army and would have died for it if not for Gieve.
Mercy Kill: After his capture, torture, and presentation at the gates of Ecbatana at the hands of Lusitania, he defiantly demands for this from his brethren as he'd rather die by the hands of an ally than an enemy. Gieve grants his wish.
Reused Character Design: It's no secret that he greatly resembles Roy Mustang, of Hiromu Arakawa's most well-known work.
Sacrificial Lion: He's captured during the disaster of Atropatene, and after being horribly tortured, Mercy Killed by Gieve at his own behest.

Kishward

Voiced by (OVA): Daiki Nakamura (Japanese)

Voiced by (TV): Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Jarrod Greene (English)

One of Pars' Marzban known as the Twin-Blade General and the trainer of the hawks Azrael and Sirrush, that are very fond of Arslan.

Dual Wielding: Is known as the Twin Blade General.
Happily Married: In Arakawa's manga, he has a wife and a young son named Sitar.
It Runs in the Family: The novels reveal that Kishward's grandson eventually follows in his footsteps, as the boy develops into the Arslan equivalent to ROSTAM, famous Iranian folk hero.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Sides with Andragoras after his king kicked Arslan out for raising an army, and was willing to fight Daryun over conflicting loyalties, but admits he only does so because of the law.
Reasonable Authority Figure: After Arslan and co. deal with a string of traitorous and/or dishonest Marzbans and lords, Kishward stands out for being genuinely loyal and friendly, not just to Arslan but also to the rest of Arslan's Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. As the cherry on top, he wholeheartedly supports Arslan's goal to abolish slavery and states to Narsus that he'd remain loyal even if it turns out Arslan doesn't have a drop of royal blood.
Undying Loyalty: To Arslan.

Kubard

Voiced by (OVA): Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese)

Voiced by (TV): Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Chris Ryan (English)

One of Pars' Marzban. Known for being a heavy drinker as well as a ladies's man.

The Alcoholic: Usually seen drinking.
BFS: His sword is massive.
Blood Knight: He loves nothing more than a good fight. Good drink and beautiful women are his next favorite things.
Chick Magnet: Get quite a lot of attention from the ladies.
Handicapped Badass: Only has one eye and yet is still a dominant force on the battlefield.
Neutral No Longer: Kubard lived as a mercenary after the fall of Pars until he rejected Saam's offer to fight under Silvermask's banner, which prompted a death squad to be sent after him, after a raid on a Lusitanian Templar castle. Realizing what this meant, he decided to fight under Pars banner once again.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Under the misconception that Andragoras had fled the disaster that was the battle of Atropatene plains, he decided to abandon the Parsian banner in disgust that his king would turn tail on his own army.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He's first seen bickering with Shapur, in what's likely not an uncommon occurrence, but learning of how Shapur died is one of the few moments where he drops the laidback attitude.

Bahman

Voiced by (OVA): Yosuke Nake (Japanese)

Voiced by (TV): Creator/Taketora (Japanese), Charlie Campbell (English)

One of Pars' Marzban and is the oldest of the Marzban at age 62.

Conflicting Loyalty: After receiving a letter from Vahriz about the possibility that Arslan isn't of royal blood and later finding out that Silvermask is former Prince Hermes, Bahman is no longer certain what is right anymore. He is torn between wanting to support Prince Hermes or continuing to stand behind Arslan.
Death Seeker: After his Moment of Weakness, Faragis notes that he steels himself to redeem himself through an honorable death.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He wanted to stop Kishward and the others from killing Silvermask/Prince Hermes and in his panic, blurted out that they must not extinguish the royal line, while in front of Arslan, unintentionally indicating that Arslan is not of royal blood and causing some serious emotional harm to the poor boy.
Old Soldier: He's still in service at the age of 62.
The Strategist: In the manga, he developed the tactics and strategy of the Sindhuran campaign that resulted in less than 200 dead out of an army of 10 000 Parsians. Narsus admits that he couldn't have pulled that off on his own.
What You Are in the Dark: The manga expands his death a bit further than the anime. Seeing a spear thrown at Arslan, he ponders the fact that with Arslan dead, Pars would unite under Hilmes' banner and there would be no civil war. He gets in the spear's way, saving Arslan while dying himself.

Zaravant

Son of the Lord Mundhir of Oxus, who joins Arslan's cause before the battle of Saint Emmanuel's Keep. He's impatient and hot-headed, and takes a mutual dislike for Jaswant.

Adaptation Expansion: On top of being Promoted to Playable, his background and personality is expanded upon in Koei's game.
Gonk: Zaravant's most distinguishing feature is his round, almost baby-like face.
Character Development: Surprising for a minor character. Getting his butt saved for trying to take the shortcut humbles him, while meeting another foreigner within Arslan's ranks leads him to apologize to Jaswant for his prejudices.
Everyone Has Standards: For all his attitude, even he is also dismayed by Andragoras' exile of Arslan.
Green-Eyed Monster: Although he also dislikes Jaswant for his Shindhurian heritage, he's mostly jealous of Jaswant's position of trust with Arlsan.
Leeroy Jenkins: He nearly leads Tus and Isfan to their ends by taking a shortcut near a Lustanian outpost with the hope of also impressing Arslan. Getting his sorry hide saved taught him a lesson.
Military Brat: Born into an aristocratic military family, and his attitude shows it.
Undying Loyalty: To Arslan, as he eventually decides to defy Andragoras and join Arslan's camp alongside Jimsa on the basis that it was Arslan's call to arms that he answered.

Isfan

Shapur's younger half-brother, who joins Arslan's cause before the battle of Saint Emmanuel's Keep. Isfan takes an immediate disliking for Gieve for his Mercy Kill of Shapur.

Adaptation Expansion: On top of being Promoted to Playable, his background and personality is expanded upon in Koei's game.
Bare-Fisted Monk: A particularly interesting case, as he's starts off fighting bare-handed in the game, despite using a sword in the anime and being a minor character.
Heroic Bastard: He was born from an affair between Shapur's father and his slave mother.
Parental Abandonment: His step-mother left him and his mother in the winter mountains to die when she learn of the affair. His mother died, leading to his being Raised by Wolves
Raised by Wolves: He's said to have been raised by wild wolves after the death of his mother.
You Killed My Father: Or brother. Even though he knows it was a Mercy Kill, Shapur was his only family after the death of his mother.

Tus

Garrison Commander of Zara, who joins Arslan's cause before the battle of Saint Emmanuel's Keep. Unlike Isfan and Zaravant, he's keeps a level head.

Adaptation Expansion: On top of being Promoted to Playable, his background and personality is expanded upon in Koei's game.
Chain Pain: He wields a weight and chain to very deadly effect, and saves his allies more than once with it.
Only Sane Man: Between Isfan and Zarafant, he's the only one who vocally opposes taking the shortcut to Sain Emmanuel's Keep because it's skirts by a Lustanian outpost. Lo and behold, they were ambushed when Zaravant decided to go anyway.

Lusitanians

King Innocentius VII

The current King of Lusitania and ruler of occupied Myriam and Pars, and the elder brother of Guiscard.

Adipose Rex: He is wider than he is tall.
Anti-Villain: Despite being king of Lusitania, with all of the beliefs, he can barely be considered a villain at all. His relation to the country is pretty much the only evil thing about him.
Expy: Considering his brother is the resident Richard III equivalent, he can be seen as both a) an exaggerated caricature of his brother Edward IV of England^note and b) the king he deposed, the supposedly-saintly Lancastrian Henry VI, whose martial experience is virtually non-existent.
Even Evil Has Standards: More just on the side of it, but nonetheless... he openly weeps when Bodin has thousands of books burned, which contained everything from history, legends, and practical knowledge of medicine and other necessities.
Fat Bastard: Averted. He's certainly on the heavy side, but a rather nice fellow, all-around.
Kevlard: How he manages to survive an engineered assassination attempt from Irina: he's so damn obese, his subcutaneous fat managed to keep her dagger from inflicting anything fatal.
Lazy Bum: He doesn't even seem to have the energy to have any of the hostility of the rest of Lusitania.
Love at First Sight: He falls head over heels for Tahamine, allowing for her survival despite constant urging from Guiscard to have her executed.
Puppet King: For all intents and purposes, his brother and Bodin are more active within Lusitanian ranks than Innocentius is, both figuratively and physically. His job is more or less to just approve of whatever they want to do. To a degree, Guiscard is actually frustrated with how readily Innocentius delegates everything to others, at one point yelling (not to his face) that he should think for himself.
Sheltered Aristocrat: His experience with the real world is scant, leading to how gullible and easily manipulated he is.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Innocentius is actually a pretty friendly guy, if a bit dim. His younger brother Guiscard is much more cunning than he is.
Too Important to Walk: Often shown being carried around on a palanquin rather than walking. Possibly because he's so fat that he's been shown gasping for breath after walking across a courtyard.

Guiscard

The Supreme Commander of the Royal Lusitanian Army and Grand Vizier. He is the brother of the current king of Lusitania, Innocentius VII and serves as his advisor.

Beard of Evil: Unlike his older brother, has a full beard, showing his experience over Innocentius.
The Chew Toy: He does not have a good time occupying Ecbatana. The series is well aware of this, even at one point contrasting Guiscard's mountain of problems to Arslan's soldiers—whom one would expect to be the victims here—celebrating and relaxing in Peshawar.
Enraged by Idiocy: Honestly, it's hard to fault him for losing his cool at every ridiculous setback and situation he has to suffer because of his brother's actions or Bodin's lunacy, not helped by the fact that he's the Only Sane Man in the Lustainian army actually trying to finish their conquest of the country, rather than resting on their laurels after their early victory over the parsons and Andragoras. It's almost enough to make you pity the poor bastard at times.
Evil Chancellor: For all intents and purposes, Guiscard is the true ruler of Lusitania, managing all of its affairs while his older brother simply sits pretty on a throne.
Even Evil Has Standards: Though a devout Lusitanian, he despises Bodin's fanatacism, though likely because Bodin destroys libraries and kills random Parsians, all potential assets for Guiscard.
Expy: The man who can arguably be seen as the Only Sane Man and worthy Magnificent Bastard within the ranks of Lusitania (with a touch of fratricide) pretty much establishes him as a stand-in of the theatrical Richard III of England.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Guiscard is much more intelligent and less friendly than his older brother.
The Starscream: Not particularly against his brother, though not technically being king drives him nuts; but to Silvermask, whom he doesn't trust, but supports anyway in hopes that he and Arslan kill each other, leaving Lusitania to him.
- Goes full Starscream by Season 2, having been humiliated by the escape of Andragoras, and imprisons Innocentius to keep him out of the way as he couldn't bring himself to execute his brother personally. When he interrogates Princess Irina and witnesses her desire to get revenge for the death of her family, he uses her (along with Etoile) in an attempt to eliminate Innocentis and keep himself clear of suspicion.
Villain Has a Point: He espouses Pragmatic Villainy in order to run the Lusitanian war effort efficiently despite the incompetence of his brother and the idiocy brought about by his troops' blind fanaticism, which makes him the Only Sane Man on their side who stands a good chance of being able to oppose Arslan's efforts to retake the capital. It's therefore no surprise that he thinks he'd be a better fit for the crown than his brother, since he basically already does everything required of a conquering king besides wear the crown himself. This eventually drives him to become The Starscream and become king in full in order to claim full control over the army and take what he sees as basically his by effort and hard work anyway. Even if he's a manipulative backstabber who's plotting the death of his own family, the story does not shy away from agreeing with him on this point, and eventually several high-ranking Lusitanians come to agree that he's by far the best man to lead them as the situation in Pars growing increasingly unstable for them as the months pass.
You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: His reaction when he successfully sets up his brother's assassination, leaving him alone in a locked room with a pissed-off knife-wielding Irina and even has the guards outside relay instructions to Innocentius to lean against the door in such a manner that the blind woman can easy tell where he is in order to stab him right in the chest... and the wound fails to do any serious damage despite her burying it up to the hilt because of how damn fat he is. The man looks like his very soul has been drained out of him by the cruel irony of his plans being undone by something so ridiculous.

Bodin

The Grand Inquisitor and archpriest of Lusitania, and a servant of Lusitania's God: Yaldaboth. He enjoys torturing and killing those he considers "pagan" and is disliked by Guiscard for his extremism.

Angrish: Upon seeing the holy flag of their faith burned, Bodin flies into such a rage that he needs a translator to interpret just what the [Explicit Deleted] he's screaming about.
Dirty Coward: Dogmatic as he is, he will always be the one to turn tail and run.
The Fundamentalist: Both he and his Templars are absolutely fanatical of Yaldabaoth, getting pissed off over any mere mistreatment of their flag and spreading destruction in the name of their god. Even Guiscard hates Bodin for his extremism.
Gonk: Bodin has a constantly deranged look, giving away his extremely hostile nature.
Hate Sink: With the exception of the Templars, pretty much everybody hates him for being too extreme in his faith.
Hypocrite: Not him, but one of his Templars. Despite the Templars fanaticism towards Yaldaboth, the Templar was caught dead in the company of a Parsian (i.e. heathen) courtesan. Realizing this is the straw breaking the camel's back, leading him to leave with the Templars.
- The manga is happy to make Bodin as such. He firmly believes that a conversion that was done without the convert having been tortured first is not a valid conversion. So unless he's willing to prove that he himself was tortured for the glory of Yaldabaoth, well...
Religion of Evil: The way he markets the faith of Yadalboath gives this impression to everyone who hears him preach. He even shoves a knight of his own country into a fire for questioning the burning of rare books on medicine, spouting that anyone who gets sick is directly responsible for his illness due to "seeds of evil in his heart" with Yadalboath sending the illness as a judgement...
Sadist: He is always looking for a reason to inflict pain and suffering on others for his own amusement. He runs "hunts" for heretics to torment and murder, and the anime shows him licking his lips in anticipation of how he's going to slowly and painfully dismember Shapur to death as he's showcasing the latter at the city gates to Endcaba.
Who Needs Enemies?: Bodin ultimately proves to be too much of a liability, due to his extremism and wanton destruction. When one of his Templars show up dead in bed with a Parsian courtesan (unbeknownst to him, at the hands of Silvermask's confidant), he leaves Ecbatana in paranoia.

Etoile

Voiced by (OVA): Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Serena Evans (English, Manga UK)

Voiced by (TV): Yumi Uchiyama (Japanese), Ryan Reynolds (English)

A child from Lusitania that was taken captive after the first war between Pars and Lusitania, but managed to escape by using Arslan as a hostage. Three years later, Etoile serves as a squire to a Lusitanian count. Etoile is the one who sheds light to Arslan that the ways of Pars are not right and holds a firm Yaldaboathian belief that all men are equal. Initially believed to be a boy, it is later revealed that Etoile is a girl who cross-dresses as a boy so she can fight in the army.

Accidental Hand-Hold: Does this in episode 1 of the TV anime with Arslan, and pushes it away, embarrassed.
Beautiful All Along: Upon completing her disguise as a Parsian serving maiden, she turns out to be quite beautiful.
Boyish Short Hair: When Arslan first met her when they were kids, she had messy short hair which made her look even more like a boy.
Child Soldier: She was already a soldier when she was 11 years old. Arslan found it horrifying, but in her culture it's normal to join the army at that age.
Compressed Hair: Under her helmet and balaclava, she hides her long hair that reaches the middle of her back.
Defector from Decadence: After having escaped execution from her superiors, Etoile decides to find Arslan and join his faction, with the hopes of saving her king. It's not confirmed if it's a permanent decision.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Initially cold to Arslan, thinking of him as just another Parsian heathen and a spoiled rich boy. Once he shows her his kindness and resolve to change the kingdom for the better thanks to what she taught him when they were children, she warms up to him and he becomes the only Parsian she respects and cares about to some level.
Determinator: When Etoile puts her mind to something, she won't let any amount of obstacles stop her or slow her down, for better or for worse.
Fall Guy: When she discovers Innocentis' imprisonment, Guiscard tricks her into to bringing his brother to the vengeful Irina to be eliminated and then frame Etoile for treason.
Femininity Failure: When she infiltrates Peshward posing as a maiden, Etoile blows her cover by swearing out to some soldiers and then attacking one of them. If Arslan haven't shown up, Etoile would have been caught.
The Fundamentalist: As all Lusitanians warriors, Etoile is a firm believer of the Faith of Yaldabaoth and believes that those who don't follow their religion are heathens that need to be eradicated. However unlike other Lusitanians, she's willing to show compassion to others if sees goodness in them and they accept to convert.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The masculine girl to Arslan's feminine boy.
Sweet Polly Oliver: Etoile is really a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can fight along the men in the army.
Tsundere: She's brash, stubborn and hot-headed, but she has a hidden kind side. She looks down on Arslan as a spoiled rich boy and a heathen, but she soon develops a soft spot for him and prays for his safety and not having to fight him in the future.
You Are a Credit to Your Race: She thinks all Parsians are heathens that need to be eradicated. Once she gets to know Arslan, his kindness and desire to improve the kingdom make her acknowledge that Pars at least has one decent guy among them.

Barcacion

Voiced by TV: Bon Ishihara (Japanese), Jeremy Schwartz (English)

He is a Lusitanian Count and officers and the Commander of the Fortress of Saint Emmanuel. Back in Lusitania, he was the Chief Royal Librarian.

Better to Die than Be Killed: He commits suicide when Saint Emmanuel is overrun by Parsian soldiers, either by throwing himself off the top of the Keep's tower with the rest of his followers, right in front of Etoile, in the manga, or by stabbing himself in the heart with a Dagger following a heartfelt conversation with Arslan in the anime, thanking the foreign price for his kindness towards an enemy, just in time for Etoile to enter the room and see Arslan having just apparently stabbed her father figure to death.
Genre Savvy: When he was instructed to hold Saint Emmanuel, the closest fortress to the approaching forces of Pars, and that the main Lusitanian army will soon deploy to assist, Barcacion is quick to realize that this fortress and everyone in it will be used and thrown away.
Moment of Weakness: Downplayed. He panicked when seeing Parsian soldiers charging upon Saint Emmanuel chasing down Lusitanian soldiers who called for help. His slow reaction at closing the gate allowed the Parsian soldiers entry into the fortress, though he did eventually give the order when he saw them starting to enter the keep, except Gieve sniped the soldier who was about the drop the gate from the nearby mountains. Though later, both Daryun and Guiscard mention it was hardly Barcacion's fault as he was not a leader or had any battle experience.
Nice Guy: He was loved by many. After his death, the surviving Lusitanians from the fortress mourned for him. It's telling that even Guiscard calls him a good and honourable man.
Parental Substitute: He acts as one to Etoile who is his squire and the grandchild of one of his friends. He wishes he could keep Etoile far away from the fighting.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He is a kind man who is not quick to violence, unlike many of his other Lusitanian counterparts, always advising caution to the more rash Etoile.

Irina

Voiced by (TV): Ai Kayano (Japanese), Lindsay Seidel (English)

The blind Princess of Maryam of Lusitanian territory. She befriends and falls in love with Hilmes back when he was betrayed and left for death by Andragoras in his youth, and meets him again in the present while attempting to escape Lusitania's clutches.

Beware the Nice Ones: She's your classic Nice Girl, and one of the few people kind to even Hilmes (though all things considered, is understandable), but she had little hesitation in attempting to kill King Innocentis in revenge for the murder of her family when the opportunity presented itself.
Damsel in Distress: Hilmes saves her three times: first from the Lusitanian soldiers that had invaded her home, later from a group of bandits, and the last time from being burned alive for trying to assassinate King Innocentis.
Eyes Always Closed: As a result of being blind.
Last of Her Kind: She's the only descendant of royal blood left in the Kingdom of Maryam, as the Lusitanians conquered and murdered her family.
Token Good Teammate: Maryam to the rest of Lusitania. Her kingdom follows the faith of Yaldaboth. However, unlike the dogmatic Lusitanians, she is a kind-hearted lady who shows no hostility to even a Parsian like Hilmes.
Tranquil Fury: Attempts to assassinate Innocentis with nary a twitch on her face. Damn.
You Said You Would Let Them Go: The Lusitanians claimed that they would leave Maryam alone after it was conquered, but killed her entire family anyway.

Shindra/Sindhura

Rajendra

Voiced by (Japanese): Hideyuki Umezu (OVA), Kosuke Toriumi (anime)

Voiced by (English): Jason Isaacs (UK dub of OVA), Michael Gerard (CPM dub of OVA), Ian Sinclair (anime)

Second prince of Shindra, who leads an invasion of eastern Pars hoping to take advantage of the political situation. After his invasion is frustrated and he's captured, Arslan forces him to make an alliance with him, offering his help to ascend to the throne over his half-brother Gadhevi in exchange for his assistance against Lusitania.

A Father to His Men: Not fully, but he at the very least wants to bring glory and victory not only for himself but also for the soldiers under his command. It's notable that his first concern whenever things go bad for him is to be ashamed for leading his men to defeat.
Affably Evil: Friendly as he may be, Rajendra's also a total snake.
Believing Their Own Lies: Rajendra dramatically breaks down in tears during his father's funeral. The scene is a bit too melodramatic to not be planned, but Narsus thinks the prince's tears are genuine: he played the role of the loving son for so long, he ended up believing it.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Despite being allied to Arslan (if admittedly against his will), he nonetheless attempts to betray him once in each season.
- The first time, he attempts a coup against Arslan's forces after the success of the campaign. He's forced into a non-aggression peace treaty as a result.
- In the Season 2 opener, he merely informs Peshwar Keep of the incoming assault of Tuuraan, and chooses to simply wait for one of the armies to destroy the other. After all, he's "signed" for peace treaty, not an alliance.
Heroic Bastard: Calling Rajendra heroic is very much a stretch, but he's certainly more sympathetic than the pureblooded royal Gadhevi and invokes this image to his followers, stating that he'll prove even the child of a slave can become a king. Gieve even uses Rajendra's case as a walking example of why Arslan's bloodline doesn't matter; it's valor that makes royalty, not lineage.
Lesser of Two Evils: Neither of the Sindhuran princes are a paragon of virtue, but Rajendra is far less of a scumbag than his cruel, poisonous brother. Most obviously, he's never been shown to be abusive to his followers, in contrast to Gadhevi who kills his subordinates if they do as much as tell him something he doesn't like.
Let Them Die Happy: After Gadhevi's last attempt to kill him fails, Rajendra tells his agonizing father that he will send Gadhevi to live in a temple where he'll be secluded but safe. Yeah, sure. As soon as the king passes away, Rajendra orders his older brother's execution, but at least the poor old man dies thinking his sons reconciled.
Opportunistic Bastard: He takes advantage of Pars' current political instability to try and conquer Peshawar. He also tries to use Arslan's forgiving and idealistic nature in his own favor everytime he has the chance.
Son of a Whore: His mother was one of King Karikala's concubines, which in the eyes of a lot of Sindhurans, makes him unfit for the throne.
Right-Hand Cat: His only appearance in Dust Storm Dance has him doing the classic "smug villain petting his lap cat" pose.
Stern Teacher: How he justifies his betrayal of Arslan's forces, though this is really more his arrogance talking.
Ungrateful Bastard: Despite the fact that he wouldn't have ascended to the throne without Arslan's help, he still betrays him after the campaign.

Gadhevi

First Prince of Shindra and Rajendra's older half-brother. Against his father's wishes, Gadhevi seeks to secure the throne for himself while trying to get Rajendra killed whenever he can.

Asshole Victim: The man has virtually no redeeming traits, and so nobody mourns his execution, even though Rajendra himself told his father it wouldn't happen. However, trying to kill Arslan who himself was currently a guest at the palace pretty much destroyed whatever chance of mercy he could've hoped for.
Bad Boss: Even his Grand Vizier Mahendra is aware of this.
The Caligula: One of the on-screen worst king candidates in the series, which even Mahendra realizes and lampshades. He abuses his confidants, goes through his troops and resources like sand in an hourglass, and cares only about his own fame and glory. Yeah, he won't be missed.
The Dreaded: Not himself, but his War Elephants, which even Andragoras refused to face head-on.
Entitled Bastard: Assumes for most of his life that his being the eldest legitimate son and "First Prince" means he automatically deserves the throne. He never really learns what responsibility and leadership actually means, something which is pummeled to him hard when he loses everything to Rajendra.
Eye Scream: Azrael gouges out one of his eyes when he tries to attack Arslan at the banquet.
Miles Gloriosus: He loves to boast and delude himself that he's a much better fighter and tactician than he really is, and takes it poorly when his troops fail to meet the standards he thinks he lives up to.
Off with His Head!: In the end, his head is put on public display.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gets a short, effective one from his father. Scornfully mocks Arslan for losing his temper when Daryun's life is in danger. His father is not amused, and replies that if he cared about his men half as much as Arslan does, he would've been made crown prince long ago.
Small Name, Big Ego: Claims he is powerful and unbeatable because of his war elephants and his supposed fighting skill with the spear. He's properly disabused of both when his elephants fall to Narsus's strategies and when he gets a One-Hit KO from Daryun without even landing a single blow.
Sore Loser: Despite an honorable duel via proxy to determining kingship landing in Daryun's (therefore Rajendra's) favor, he completely loses it and attempts to kill Rajendra then and there.
Ungrateful Bastard: When Jaswant saves him from Daryun's spear, escorting him to safety, he berates Jaswant, blames him for his loss against the Parisian forces, and steps on his head to humiliate him.
Villainous Breakdown: He does not take his defeat and loss of the throne well at all, and attacks his father while ordering his forces to kill Rajendra and Arslan's forces but kills Mahendra instead, leading all the Sindhuran forces to arrest him for treason. And during his own pre-execution ceremony (which he is completely aware of), he loses it and unsuccessfully attempts to kill Arslan then and there. At the end of it all, Gadhevi is finally executed and his head is put on display.
You Have Failed Me: In the anime version, he would have beheaded Jaswant for the "crime" of coming back alive after Narsus saw through Gadhevi's strategy and defeated the ambush if Mahendra hadn't stepped in and asked him to stay his hand. Then again, he berates Jaswant as "failing him" by pulling him off his own war-elephant and escorting him to safety away from Daryun's spear.

Mahendra

Hereditary Grand Vizier of the Kingdom of Sindhura and an ally of Prince Gadhevi, he's also Jaswant's adoptive father.

A Father to His Men: And the adoptive father to Jaswant.
The Good Chancellor: While he laments that Gadhevi is not a better person and ruler, Mahendra serves him loyally.
Good Parents: He clearly adores his daughter and adopted son Jaswant.
The Heart: Arguably of all of Sindhura. When Gadhevi kills him in his tantrum in reaction to his loss, Sindhurans on both sides lose the will to fight and arrest Gadhevi.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Mahendra doesn't hide his knowledge that Gadhevi is an unworthy successor to the throne, but nonetheless serves him anyway. His daughter, Selima, being engaged to Gadevi adds further pressure to obey him.

Selima

Daughter of Mahendra and the future wife of Prince Gadhevi.

Adapted Out: She doesn't appear in the anime.
Beware the Nice Ones: Selima is the one to capture and turn in Gadevi to Rajendra in revenge for Gadhevi murdering her father.
Brutal Honesty: She tells Rajendra outright that she detests them. All with a sweet smile on her face.
Daddy's Girl: She loves her father and he returns the same affection. This was why she betrayed her husband who had killed her father.
Has a Type: She mentions that she likes strong men (a hint of her opinion regarding her cowardly, anxious husband)
Like Brother and Sister: She treats Jaswant like a brother since they have known each other since they were children.
Nice to the Waiter: She is shown to be friendly and kind to her attendants.
Silk Hiding Steel: Despite being a fairly nice girl, she does not hesitate to hunt down Gadhevi for killing her father or openly tell Rajendra her opinions of him. Selima's got some major nerves.

Port City of Gilan

Shagad

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shabad.png

You really are too soft, your highness. When I get free I will come for revenge!

Head merchant of the city and (former) friend of Narsus.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When introduced, he greets Arslan's party, especially Narsus, fondly and makes himself look like a reluctant exploiter of slave labor, forced by the Real Politik of the merchant's union. It's not long before his true character comes out, where Arslan's party learns he's the source of the slave labor and actively champions slavery, leading the corruption in the city.
Chekhov's Gunman: He's mentioned early in the story, though not by name, as the friend Narsus intended to send Elam to rather than have Elam join the war efforts. Come Shagad's debut and the reveal of his newfound corruption, Narsus is understandably relieved he did not send Elam, a former slave, to an unrepentant slave master.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: The lead merchant of Gilan and a rotten scoundrel who will happily do anything for profit, no matter how vile.
Defensive Feint Trap: On the receiving end from Arslan. Shagad tells Arslan's crew that he interrogated the pirate captain and learned of a 100 million gold coin treasure on a remote island. Arslan sends off his top retainers and leaves himself visibly under-defended, but while Shagad is rounding up his pirate allies, Arslan sends Narsus to the Zot clan. When Shagad attacks Arslan's HQ, the Zot clan is there waiting in the shadows, and Arslan's retainers run in from the rear, cutting off all escape.
Evil Former Friend: He was Narsus's friend in the academy, but when they meet again in the present, he's a corrupt merchant who will do anything for profit, from piracy, to theft, to murder, to treason.
Fatal Flaw: Greed and arrogance. Because he views himself as vastly "wiser" than Narsus and can never pass up what looks like an opportunity for a quick coin, even Arslan runs rings around him.
The Fatalist: It is his firm stance that people are not created equal, and everybody is stuck in his or her respective station, starting at birth. Bringing an end to slavery is a complete anathema to him, even though he and Narsus swore to bring an end to slavery during their academic years.
Laser-Guided Karma: Since he's so willing to engage in the slave trade that he'd happily betray his country, side with pirates, and engage in countless acts of murder and other forms of corruption, Arslan sentences him to slavery, so he'd see what it feels like to be one.
The Mole: He's the one who continuously feeds information to pirates in exchange for a piece of the action.
Revenge Myopia: Which even he lampshades. He commits numerous death-penalty level offenses, gets caught red-handed, and when he's sentenced to one year of slavery (a very short term for this setting), he spits on Arslan's mercy, literally, and swears to seek out vengeance the moment he's given back his freedom. Arslan responds with a Breaking Speech that has him look at the floor in shame.
Arslan: "If you truly are a man of wisdom, I hope you can learn to have compassion, as Narsus once called you a friend."
Shadow Dictator: Viceroy Pelagius was just a stooge. He's the one who actually ran the port city, using many connections, both legitimate and criminal.
Smug Snake: During almost the entirety of his appearance in the anime, he prances around as if he's the smartest and wisest man, ever, and genuinely believes it. He's completely wrong.
Spiteful Spit: As he's being sentenced for his crimes, he angrily spits on the ground with contempt for Arslan. Had he done that with any of the other king candidates of the series, his empty head would have went flying, if he was lucky.
Took a Level in Cynic: According to both him and Narsus, when they were students in Pars royal academy, he was the idealist while Narsus was the cynic. During the intervening years, they've swapped roles.
Underestimating Badassery: He correctly deduces that Arslan is weaker in combat than his retainers and believes he can overpower him in a fight and take him hostage to escape after Narsus successfully tricks him and his allies into an ambush. However, just because Arslan isn't as good as them, does not mean he's inept in a fight, and Shagad finds himself unable to outfight him and wounded in his sword arm during their exchange.
Narsus: Shagad... while you put thoughts of the future aside and idled your days away, awash in wealth and consorting with the wicked, his highness the prince fought day and night for his people and his country, honing his swordsmanship under Daryun... You underestimated him, old friend!
Virtue Is Weakness: He looks upon Narsus and Arslan with contempt because they care more about the wellfare of the subjects than money and other short-term gain.

Viceroy Pelagius

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pelagius.png

Your highness, I'd love to help the war effort, really, I would, but this city is targeted by pirates, and they set upon us the instant they see an opening, almost like magic!

The regional governor in charge of Gilan.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Which didn't fool anyone. He greets Arslan's party warmly, and is completely over the top with his flattery, but he's a corrupt scoundrel that just wanted them gone.
Corrupt Politician: The viceroy and the least problematic of his actions was simple embezzlement. When he was booted out of the position, Narsus had to organize a 100 silver payout per person to set the books right.
Fat Bastard: He's overweight and corrupt.
Plausible Deniability: When asked to provide troops and supplies for the war effort against Lusitania, he puts forward a bunch of excuses for failing to do so, including mentioning a pirate threat. Arslan's bunch thinks it's all bull until they see pirates launching an attack on an incoming merchant ship, in broad daylight, and right in the harbor.
Professional Buttkisser: The moment Arslan and crew enter his office, he runs in and goes overboard with false flattery.

Captain Graze

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/graze.png

Get me another spear!

A sailor whose trade ship is attacked by pirates while Arslan's crew is in a meeting with Viceroy Pelagius. He happily joins Arslan's cause in gratitude for Daryun coming to his rescue.

Boisterous Bruiser: He's loud and hammy when he fights.
Father Neptune: He's a well-toned sailor who knows his way around a pirate fight, is known in just about every port, and at least in the anime, he doesn't get into bar-brawls only because people know it's suicidal to start something with him.
A Father to His Men: He fights with, watches over, and protects his crew.
Fire-Forged Friends: With Daryun. The two become close as a result of being in battle against pirates together.
Honest Corporate Executive: He trades between ports honestly and fairly, without using slave labor.
Hunk: Tanned, six-pack abs, bulging biceps, the works.
Manly Facial Hair: Sports a well-maintained beard. Can kick ass any time of the day, seven days a week.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Constantly. Seems he doesn't believe in wearing shirts.

Others

Zahhak Warlocks

The Warlocks and their Master^note

The Zahhāk Warlocks are a cult of sorcerers with ancient connections to the Pars Kingdom. Not much is known of the Mages except that they aid Hilmes in his quest of retaking the Kingdom of Pars. Their ultimate goal is the resurrection of the Snake King Zahhak.

Magic A Is Magic A: Despite their formidable powers, as well as the fact they're using magic in what is otherwise a realistic-based story, the sorcerers can be combated and defeated due to the limitations present by their powers. Their most common form of Magic, Earth-diving Magic, only works on earth, allowing them to move beneath the surface like it was water, but does nothing to protect their bodies themselves from being stabbed or burnt, thus rendering them vulnerable to being counter-attacked when they emerge. Additionally, they cannot attack beyond the length of their arms, thus standing in a high enough spot separate from the ground, like a tree, allows one to avoid their attacks. Despite having access to magic, they cannot apparently preform unnatural phenomenons at will, such as summoning flames or lightning to attack their opponents with, being limited to knives and blades every time they are shown to be in a fight. The sole exception to this, the mists that obscured the Lustinian traps upon the fields of Atropatene, required a lot of preparation to achieve, and apparently required all of them to preform in a ritual together, with the side-effect of their leader's formidable abilities being greatly weakened afterward as he's reduced to a wizened old man for several months until he's able to recover. Accordingly, whilst their magic does provide an advantage, it does not render them overwhelming opponents to fight against, merely difficult to combat.
Ambiguously Human: The Zahhak sorcerers appear human but have strange abilities such as being able to phase through the ground, though this is attributed to their mystical sorcery. The biggest offender is their Holy Master, the leader of their band, who at one point expels a significant number of snakes from his mouth to infect the orifices and bleeding stump of the Sorcerer who failed to claim Bahman's letter, transforming him into a snake-like monster in turn, and is shown to age rapidly if he over-extends his power for preform great feats of magic like the mists at Atropatene.
Apple of Discord: Their methods vary, but the end result is their overall achievement. They go about helping Hilmes invade pars with a Lustianian army, then attempt to help him overthrow said Lustianaina in an internal Coup, so he can become the Shah of Pars, directing him to actions that cause conflict to erupt between fellow parsians, and also subtly interfering elsewhere to turn lustinaians against each other, such as Poisoning Innocents' blade for his duel against Andragoas, which causes many lustinaians to lose what little respect they had for their king in the first place, and throw their support behind his much more competent brother instead. All of this is to ensure mass conflict erupts within the borders of pars, to water the earth with blood and fuel Zahhak's return.
For the Evulz: Arzang attacked and slaughtered a small village for no apparent reason. It's hinted later on that they require a large quantity of blood to be spilt on Parsian lands in order to fuel Zahhak's return from beneath Mount Demavant, and they're not picky about whether it's soldier or civilian. Though given that Hilmes forbade them from causing obviously supernatural deaths within the capital city in order to avoid drawing attention to himself in the process, it's implied they were picking remote villages for their bloodletting to obscure their sacrificial offerings under the cover of war.
The Faceless: Something of a theme with them. Their cloaks and mantles conceal their appearance, and the only way to tell the members apart from each other is the various stylised masks they wear, obscuring the upper halves of their faces. So far, those members that have been slain have perished in a manner that also destroyed their heads, leaving them unable to be identified afterwards.
Malevolent Masked Men: Their group all wear masks.
No Name Given: So far, only one of them has been named, as this was after his passing. The others have never referred to each other by their names when talking, and they only call their leader by his title.
Hidden Villain: Only Hilmes is are of the full scope of their involvement in the plot. Otherwise, they take pains never to be seen or witnessed by others, in order to better direct the various factions within Pars against each other, rather than recognising them as a common foe. Arslan's group had survived encounters with their members, and even killed a few of them, but they are left completely in the dark as to who they are and what their purpose is.
The Heavy: They Saved Hilmes from the fire that Andragoras started and helped him fuel his hatred, providing advice, knowledge and their magic as needed to allow him to eventually return to Pars leading an army of destructive invaders that cause mass slaughter of soldiers and civilians alike. Their advice directs Hilmes' course of action at times, and they go out of their way to cause chaos and dissection within Parsian lands, all so the bloodshed from the various battles will help fuel their master and strengthen him for his eventual return.
Outside-Genre Foe: For the most Part, the story of Arslan's legend is a realistic tale, with superhuman feats of fighting skill being easily explained away by Rule of Cool and a significant focus on politics and strategy involved in the retaking of pars. Wherever these guys show up though, the story becomes a straight fantasy epic, with numerous plots points, such as the mists on the plains of Atropatene that obscured the Lustinian's traps, the attempted theft of Vahriz's letter or the murders of several high-ranking Lustinaians being made possible only through supernatural means, which often leaves those who encounter them on the back foot when faced by an unnatural threat. That said, they're not completely out of context though, as the Parsian heroes are able to somewhat recognise the magic they're using, despite never having personally seen it before, from legends and fairy tales in their culture, such as Narsius recognising Arzang's earth-diving magic and being able to utilise it's limitations against him. This is played very straight for the Lustinians they encounter though, whose dogmatic zeal for destroying 'heathen' culture means they've also destroyed any records that might give them context of these strange beings.
You Have Failed Me: When one of them fails to collect Bahman's letter that proves the truth behind Arslan's lineage, losing an arm in the process, the Holy Master transforms him onto a snake-human hybrid and sends him back to the fortress, apparently either to find the letter or die killing as many Parsians as his new inhuman body will allow. Despite the improvements to his combat ability, it's clear that the process destroyed the sorcerer's mind and left him little more than a attack dog for their plans.

Merlane

Voiced by (Japanese): Takehito Koyasu (OVA Series), Satoshi Hino (TV Anime)

Voiced by (English): Brandon McInnis (TV Anime)

The older son of the chief of the Zott Clan and brother to Alfarid. He is looking for his sister after the death of their father. He is currently with Irina, helping her to find Hilmes.

Big Brother Instinct: He will deny it but he does care for his little sister.
Bodyguard Crush: Downplayed, but it's implied Merlane decided to help Irina with her search for Prince Hilmes because he likes her.
Brutal Honesty: Merlane has no trouble saying things as they are. He initially called out Irina for hiding her face and not providing any reward while also making big requests of him and Kubard. He also tells her that he doesn't like it when the rich expect and demand things from their soldiers, their slaves and people below them.
Hypocritical Humor: He's appalled to learn that Alfarid, a proud member of the Zot Clan, is in service of royalty now... when he himself just spent the past arc helping out Princess Irina. He justifies it to himself as a choice made on his own volition.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a brash and unrepentant bandit, but he goes out of his way to help multiple people while receiving nothing in return.
Master Archer: Excellent with the bow and arrow. He describes himself as the second best archer in the land—stating that there's probably someone better that he'll meet one day. After witnessing Gieve and Farangis, he settles for calling himself the third best.
Perpetual Frowner: His face seems to be stuck in a prominent scowl.
The Un-Favourite: He feels that he is this as his father seemed to like Alfarid more than him.

Jimsa

Voiced by (Japanese): Soma Saito (TV Anime)

Voiced by (English): Micah Solusod (TV Anime)

He is a Turanian general, part of the invading force against Peshwar. Due to a perceived betrayal, Jimsa was forced out of the Turan forces and almost killed, but was found by Arslan's group.

Born in the Saddle: As many other Turans, Jimsa is very skilled fighting on his horse and it is difficult to unhorse him by regular means.
Language Fluency Denial: Jimsa is fluent enough in the Parsian language, compared to his other comrades, and pretends not to know it to gain information when he was captured. However, Narsus was smart enough to see through his act.
Master Poisoner: Jimsa is a master of using the blowgun and manages to poison several Parsian soldiers.
Mistaken for Betrayal: Due to deliberately being given false information that caused the Turan forces to attack each other, the Turan king wanted him dead for his supposed deceit. Jimsa barely managed to escape with his life.
Values Dissonance: In-universe. In Turan, the king must be strong and brave and not be overshadowed by his retainers in order to rule. Jimsa is reluctant to accept Narsus's offer to join Arslan because in his mind, Arslan is seen as weaker and more naïve compared to his retainers like Daryun or Kubard.

Characters / The Heroic Legend of Arslan

Arslan's faction

Silver Mask's faction

Parsians

Lusitanians

Shindra/Sindhura

Port City of Gilan

Others

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Characters / The Heroic Legend of Arslan

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Arslan's faction

Silver Mask's faction

Parsians

Lusitanians

Shindra/Sindhura

Port City of Gilan

Others

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